Wonder! Woman!

I went to see Wonder Woman this week and the drive home and for the remainder of the evening I yelled my admiration for the movie roughly in Josh’s direction. There’s a scene near the beginning where the Amazons are fighting, and I was surprised when I started crying; there were just so many women on screen, all being so badass, and my heart was so full with it. When the credits rolled, I had the same kinds of feelings (though not nearly to the same magnitude) that I did after seeing Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time. We got in the car and I said (yelled), “I want to do one thousand push-ups.” The next day I was like, “perhaps now I will feel more reasonably about Wonder Woman” but no, still high on the movie.

I’ll do my best not to spoil anything for you, but I want to tell you more about how much I love this movie.

First: wow there are a lot of women in this movie (at least at first, because yes this movie has problems but we’re focusing on the good here). AND, they have reasonable footwear. Diana wears, get this, boots. Boots! Without a heel! Her armour is also slightly more armour-like than it has been depicted in the past! It has a strap! The bar is very low for the representation of women in film! And like, it’s not covering a ton of her body, but it looks pretty hefty and she isn’t objectified by the camera. This is possibly because this movie was directed by a woman and you know what? Men have had their turn at superhero movies and they are becoming hella boring – fight fight fight fight and then deliver an Uplifting Speech, ugh – so how about we hand superheroes over to women. Throw in Star Wars and Star Trek as well. At least half of them.

please note, her shoes

Also Robin Wright plays a general who is the top expert on fighting and AGH I love it.

Antiope, ilu.

Diana is portrayed as very much not stupid, even though there’s a ton of stuff she doesn’t know. Like, she grew up on a paradise island populated only with women, so there’s a few times she is surprised by things that seem run-of-the-mill, but she’s also a fast learner who doesn’t take things at face value. She’s smart! She thinks for herself! I love it!

she also dodges bullets!

This movie also does a bunch of casual poking at issues. There’s a character who talks about not being able to do what he wants to with his life because his skin is the wrong colour. Women are dismissed by people as being incapable and then are like “um, no” and go on being awesome. I feel like casual conversations of these kinds of things in movies and TV so important. It’s part of why I love Brooklyn 99.

Okay one last thing. You know how lots of war movies are like “GERMANS ARE EVIL AND THE ALLIES ARE GOOD” and don’t leave much room for any kind of nuance? This DC superhero movie practically goes out of it’s way to not toot America’s horn and it is downright refreshing. Diana does this thing where she values people’s lives on both sides of the war and DAMN if that ain’t my shit. I thought about taking that swear out but I am FIRED UP and I’m leaving it. This movie doesn’t sanitize violence the way other superhero movies often do!

me, every Halloween, from now until eternity, world without end, amen and amen

P.S. also the slow-mo fights are OFF THE CHAIN and they’re beautiful AND they show the cost of war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to go watch this film right the hell now!